Electric Like Eva
by OxymoronProne
Summary: In the corner of the backyard, near the fence, sitting obtrusively in Eva's garden, was a huge, blue and white armored beetle with no rider in its saddle. The realization made Eva drop her gun. "What the hell - G'dar!" OR Post-race, Eva doesn't see Aikka for a long time. A very long time. Then, when she least expects it, she finds a visitor in her backyard. /M for Language
1. Adventurous

A/N: guess who shouldn't be writing right now and should definitely be spending time studying or doing her homework? This person. fuck. shit. goddamn.

* * *

G'dar fled as soon as the ship's huge bay door had opened. No matter how well-behaved the poor fellow was, he had also endured a three-day trip in tight quarters, and was feeling understandably betrayed by his master.

"G'dar, wait!" Aikka shouted, and the beetle met his eyes for a moment before taking off into the night. The prince pressed his hands to his temples and sighed.

Canaan immediately noticed the problem and made to soothe and reassure the ambassadors who were suddenly frantic and speaking into small earpieces.

"My friends, be at peace; the beetle G'dar is the prince's mount. He is simply upset at the length and condition of the journey. No, he is not dangerous. Yes, he will either return on his own or we will find him before he causes problems with the locals," Canaan said gently.

The ambassadors in the suits seemed a little less worried, but still spoke in hushed tones with their superiors over communication devices. The one with the dark hair and bright white teeth informed the Nourasian envoy of the decision that had been made.

"You have until morning to locate the beetle, after which point the United Earth Government will take action," she said. Her eyes said sorry. Her posture said tension.

Aikka could see the problem with having a non-native, giant, armored insect loose on an unsuspecting planet. It wasn't ideal in his mind, either. But G'dar was Aikka's mount. G'dar had been with Aikka since Aikka was born. The two had grown together; they had a bond.

Canaan seemed it fit to express this when the prince cast his eyes to the ground. "Harming the prince's mount in any way will be seen as an attack against the prince himself," he said tersely. "We will find G'dar, and if he has caused damage to any persons or structures before we do, we will of course pay reparations."

"Fret not, Canaan," Aikka piped up, "I will find him and return him to this place. If you'll allow me to make the trek alone so as to not frighten him? This is planet is foreign to him and he is likely confused as well as upset."

The fencing master raised a brow but nodded. The ambassadors in their dark suits seemed reluctant to let him go off alone, but gave him his space under threat of social misstep.

Aikka notched an arrow and used the glow to lead his way through the dense treeline, leaving behind the calamity that had been their meeting with the Earth ambassadors.

The trees on Earth were intimidating and spiky, Aikka noticed as branches brushed against his arms when he moved. And very, very green. He took the narrow paths between the massive trees, winding under foliage and lighting his path through magic.

"G'dar?" Called Aikka into the night, "My friend, I am sorry!"

No giant beetle came crashing through the forest to meet him, so Aikka continued forward.

He walked.

And walked.

And walked.

No sign or trace of his mount for nearly an hour, and he could practically feel Canaan's panic from miles away.

The trees made moonlight fight to find its way to the forest floor, but up ahead Aikka could see the air becoming lighter. He moved forward more quickly and emerged from the sense trees to find a large clearing with a small pond.

A quick scan of the area told him that no, G'dar had not taken refuge here.

Aikka felt very defeated - something he did not often feel. He stowed his arrow and took a seat at the edge of the pond to watch Earth's single moon slowly travel across the sky. He passed at least another hour this way, worrying about his friend and counting the spots he could see on the white orb in the sky.

With a start, Aikka realized he could hear the thrumming of wings. He searched the sky and saw a huge, dark shape blocking out several stars, descending quickly into the clearing to join him.

The shape was soon close enough to be seen as a huge, armored beetle.

"G'dar!" Aikka cried happily.

The beetle landed, walking towards the prince with a near-sheepish gait, and Aikka was just about to scold his friend for worrying him when someone launched themself off of G'dar's back and onto the springy grass.

The person landed with a soft thud and turned to stare at Aikka, their features indistinguishable in the weak moonlight.

Aikka notched an arrow and tensed, preparing for the worst. The soft glow of the arrowhead threw their face into relief at the same time the woman spoke.

"Lose something, Prince?"

" _Molly_?!"


	2. Enduring

A/N: BACK ON MY BULLSHIT LOOK AT THIS IMAGINE THAT. WOW.

-oxy

* * *

Imagine the most intense experience of your entire life.

Now, imagine racing in the biggest and most divisive intergalactic race in history, seeing your racing partner sacrifice himself for you and turn into an all-powerful wizard, saying goodbye to one of the best friends you've ever had while being certain you'll never see him again, and then returning to your home planet just to be told that you'll never be recognized for winning the Great Race of Oban.

Such was life for Eva Wei.

She'd made peace with her father after the race, attended her last two years of high school, and then went on to college to earn a couple of Bachelor's degrees and a Master's degree in Engineering.

Eva settled into a standard routine of boredom and excitement, and the routine in and of itself was feeling mundane after a point.

She made her peace with the idea of Jordan being the Avatar, too. She liked to imagine he watched over the galaxy and would stop by and make something crazy on Earth happen every once in a while just to say "hi."

She regretted the way things ended with Aikka. She'd never told him what she wanted to tell him. She didn't know whether it would've made any difference at the end of things - he was a prince, after all. He'd not contacted her since they'd said goodbye at the race's end. She tried to not feel as if he'd forgotten her, but the bitterness seeped through in the moments when she had nothing to do.

As time went on, and two, six, ten years passed, Eva was celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday in her own home in Michigan. Stan and Koji and Rick and her father had made the journey from their own places across the country. Twenty-five was a big deal to them, apparently.

When they'd gotten back to Earth, the race was all any of them could talk about. They began to speak about it less and less the more time went on, until it hardly featured in any conversation. Life had gotten busy again. There was too much to do to reminisce about what had happened lightyears away.

So now, they spoke about work.

Stan and Koji had moved on to opening their own design and construction company for star-racers after Miguel had died in a reactor explosion in 2087, so they spoke about a prototype Whizzing Arrow IV they wanted Eva to come and try out eventually, alongside several other prototype 'racers they'd been tinkering on in their spare time. They seemed happy to be doing what they loved. The twin wedding bands on their fingers glinted when they held hands.

Rick had gotten married three years before, to a lovely young lady willing to put up with how intense he was. Rick himself had cooled down a little bit, and ran a hot spring spa in Japan.

Eva's father Don...well. He never missed any of her important events and he always made time to spend with her. He'd missed out on most of her childhood, and she only lived with him until she went to college, so their relationship could use some more work, but Eva wasn't complaining. She had a dad again - someone she could call when she needed help.

Eva was happy with how things had turned out. She was independent, educated, and her own boss. She worked as a mechanic in her own repair shop on weekdays, and then on weekends she would enter races with the star racer she'd built with Stan and Koji's help.

In any case, as she ate whatever expensive dessert her dad had bought and opened up the bottle of red wine Stan and Koji had picked up on their way over, Oban, Aikka, and the race itself was the furthest thing from her mind.

So imagine her surprise when there was a thrumming of wings on the air.

"What's that?" Eva asked, turning to the big bay window in the dining room.

Conversation around her stopped. Her dad looked worried.

"What's what?" Don stared at her.

"That sound…" Eva said. The sound rang a bell. A very, very, faraway bell. The memory made her tense.

"Were you expecting a helicopter, Eva?" Stan joked, noticing the noise too.

Koji looked around, "Not low-pitched enough to be a helicopter," he muttered.

Eva opened a drawer with her thumbprint and pulled out a purchase her dad had definitely been better of not knowing about. The big black gun felt solid and reassuring in her grip, and she turned and handed it to Rick.

"Keep them safe," Eva demanded, and grabbed the other weapon from the drawer while Stan, Koji, and her father were sputtering in disbelief. "I'll be back in no-time. Just want to make sure…"

"You got it, little mouse," Rick said and jerked his head towards the door. "Your house, your rules. Go ease your mind."

"Thanks, Rick," said Eva, and off she went through the front door.

The night air was cool and there was a gentle wind to ruffle the trees every now and again. Eva kept the gun pointed at the ground and she walked through her backyard, where the noise became louder as she got closer. The race, and the years of not having any trouble since then, made her paranoid. Dangerous.

"Hello?" Eva called, and received no answer, "Hello? If there's someone there, you're trespassing on my property-"

There was an ear-splitting screech, and Eva nearly dropped the gun to press her hands to her ears.

"Ah!" She cried, ear drums ringing lightly when the screech stopped. She pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shone it around the backyard, breath leaving her in a big whoosh when she found the source of the noise.

In the corner of the backyard, near the fence, sitting obtrusively in Eva's garden, was a huge, blue and white armored beetle with no rider in its saddle. The realization made Eva drop her gun.

"What the _fuck_ \- G'dar?!"


	3. Graceful

A/N: HERES THE LAST OF THE PREWRITTEN CHAPS

THE REST WILL COME

EVENTUALLY

IF I CAN SUSTAIN THE WILL TO WRITE, THEY WILL COME

-oxy

* * *

Eva stared at Aikka for a while.

He'd grown in the years she'd not seen him. She couldn't see many details in the pitch darkness, but she knew he'd changed. His hair was longer, and was tied up in two ponytails instead of three. The hair not tied hung freely to the middle of his back. He wore different armor, too. Altogether Aikka seemed more grown-up.

Outright, Eva decided to ignore the numerous elephants in the room. Instead, she commented on G'dar.

"So how exactly did you lose a _giant beetle_?" Eva teased, leaning against G'dar's huge side. The beetle huffed at her as if he were offended.

To Eva's immense joy, Aikka seemed embarrassed. "He is much quicker than he looks, if you remember."

She did remember. She decided not to continue with that train of conversation. Instead, she spread her arms wide and stared at her friend.

"May I?" Eva asked, and nearly tackled Aikka in a hug when he nodded his assent. Aikka felt very solid and very real, and Eva inhaled something spicy and warm. "How are you _here_?"

Aikka pulled back from the embrace to speak to her.

"I've come to Earth as part of a diplomatic envoy. My father started alliance negotiations with the Earth President as soon as the Crogs left Nourasian orbit. My father seems excited to have a new ally; I told my people at length of you- the _Earth team's_ incredible bravery and compassion."

Eva blushed lightly, happy that the nighttime was dark enough to hide it.

"I bet there's somewhere you need to get back to, now that you've got G'dar back," she mentioned, and Aikka stiffened a little.

"Canaan and the Earth ambassadors are awaiting my return, yes. I'm sure they wouldn't mind an additional guest," Aikka held out a hand to Eva and continued when she hesitated, "After we assure them no damage has been done, I would be happy to escort you home."

"You got yourself a deal, Prince," Eva agreed, smiled, and let Aikka help boost her onto the tall beetle.

It was only when both of them were seated in the saddle that Aikka turned his head slightly and asked what had been on his mind.

"How did you happen to come across G'dar?" Aikka asked. The beetle's wings fluttered, lifting the three of them from the ground and up into the night sky.

"He decided to land in my backyard. When he showed up and you weren't with him, I got worried. I asked him if he could take me to you - I thought I might be able to help if something had gone wrong. And I had no idea what you or G'dar was doing here on Earth, so I thought something had gone really, _really_ wrong," Eva shuddered, tightening her grip slightly on Aikka's waist, "Earth isn't a very nice place to get lost."

Aikka considered what Eva was saying. He did not wish to say goodbye to her once more.

"Perhaps, then," Aikka commented, "I should find a reliable, local tour guide. Someone to point me in the right direction and make sure I stay out of trouble."

Eva chuckled from her place on the back of the huge war beetle, thinking herself near insane in falling into this mess again. Alien princes, huge beetle mounts, and top-secret information she definitely shouldn't have been privy to were all things she hadn't dealt with in a long, long time.

"Prince Aikka," Eva began in the most grandiose tone she could muster with the wind rushing past her face, "I humbly propose my candidacy for 'Local Earth Tour Guide.'"

The Earthling waited until she could feel Aikka shake silently with laughter before continuing, "I can provide numerous character references and examples of past experience if needed."

"That will not be necessary," Aikka laughed airily, "I would be honored if you would be my guide."

"That's _one_ thing settled, at least," Eva said, and rested her forehead between Aikka's shoulder blades, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Molly? Are you alright?" Aikka asked, and Eva gave a short laugh in response.

"I was going to comment on it earlier - I haven't heard that name in a long time," Eva said. The last time she'd heard that name was Aikka's goodbye to her on Oban.

"Forgive me; I meant no offense, I assure you. 'Eva,' isn't it?"

"It is. 'Eva Wei,'" Eva murmured.

"Eva Wei…" Aikka tested the sound. "Eva Wei - pilot extraordinaire, victor of the Great Race of Oban... _Earth Princess_ ," the prince teased.

Eva found herself blushing again.

* * *

Canaan and the Earth ambassadors were _not_ happy when Aikka brought G'dar down on the landing pad.

"Prince Aikka!" Canaan called, moving to intercept the young Nourasian and pausing when he noticed Aikka waiting to help Eva down from G'dar's tall shell.

The two safely on the ground and standing beside one another, Canaan was reminded of the Great Race and he shook himself.

"My Prince, if you wouldn't mind explaining?" Canaan requested, glancing over at their hosts and hoping to convey a sense of urgency.

The Earth ambassadors were muttering into their earpieces again, eyes flickering every once in a while to G'dar, and standing in a small cluster. Even the one with the dark hair and bright teeth who'd spoken earlier was wary of the giant beetle.

"Of course, Canaan," Aikka began smoothly, linking his elbow with Eva's and walking forward until they reached the edge of the Earthlings' group. "My friends, I searched fruitlessly for my mount for two hours, and was miraculously set upon by my dear friend Eva, who found G'dar and returned him to me out of the kindness of her heart. She tells me he caused no damage to any structures, nor to any passers-by."

"Prince Aikka, this is a severe breach of confidentiality-" the woman with the dark hair began, and Aikka held up a hand to cut her off.

"Forgive me, madam. Perhaps I did not convey the proper information when I spoke: this is _Eva Wei_ ," Aikka stressed, "victor of the Great Race of Oban. Her father is Don Wei. Jordan Wilde, current _Avatar_ , was her teammate."

Eva flinched imperceptibly. Remembering the moment Jordan jumped was never pleasant, no matter how much time passed.

An observer would have been able to hear a pin drop. The woman with the dark hair looked suitably frazzled and embarrassed.

"Eva is the pilot who stopped General Kross of the Crog Empire from becoming the Avatar and wiping out the entire galaxy. If there is anyone on this planet - nay, in this _universe_ \- who should be privy to information regarding Nourasia's diplomatic mission to Earth, it is Miss Wei," Aikka concluded, sparing a glance to the left at his Earthling friend.

Eva blushed hard and stared at the ground, and all she could think about was that Aikka was really, really good at persuasive speeches. She couldn't remember the last time her face had felt this hot.

"Madam President?" The woman with the dark hair asked into her earpiece, "The Nourasian Prince has given us some information and I need a fact-check…"

A few moments passed, and the agent snapped to attention.

"Yes, ma'am," said the woman, and, "No, ma'am," and ending with, "Yes, ma'am. I will make sure of it," she turned to stare at the odd pair. "President Wong would like to extend her gratitude to you, Miss Wei, for helping to find Prince Aikka's... _mount_. She told me to ensure you were seen safely to your home, and put in easy contact with His Highness."

Aikka nearly smirked in satisfaction, and said, "Now, if that's settled, I believe my friend would like an escort home."

The ambassadors seemed to launch themselves into action - asking the prince and Eva whether they needed refreshment or other comforts. They fluttered around the pair, opening car doors for them with urgency and bowing their heads in respect when the two approached.

"Say 'hello' to President Wong for me! Tell her I wish her luck with her spice garden!" Eva called to the dark-haired agent as she and Aikka were led toward a large, black, armored vehicle.

Eva had met with each of the new Presidents who had taken office after McMillian had resigned, the reason being that each President was informed of the Great Race and the truth of the Crog incident as soon as they were sworn in. Each of them met with Eva and her team, or what was left of it, anyway.

The first was an ex-General, winning his election by a wide margin and using his strategic mind to convince the people that they needed a leader that would make sure the armistice with the Crogs stayed that way. The second was a humanitarian woman who wished for peace for Earth, opening communications with the Crogs amicably and negotiating a lasting peace treaty. The third was the woman in office now - President Wong, a retired Professor of Intergalactic Law and Criminal Justice, who'd become a politician after the war and was committed to her planet fully.

Eva had had tea with her more than once - she was a lovely woman, and she seemed in awe of Eva and what she'd done for Earth and the galaxy. President Wong had gifted Eva a Yellow Heart for her service, though she was in no way military. The ceremony and presentation of the award could in no way be public, and Wong had expressed her apologies for that. Eva didn't mind; she didn't want the inquiries it would bring, anyway.

Aikka raised a brow at Eva's request to the dark-haired agent.

"I know her," Eva shrugged.

Aikka grinned and chuckled at his companion.

"You never cease to amaze me, Eva," said the prince.

Eva couldn't quite deny that she liked hearing Aikka say her real name. She'd thought about it a lot since his goodbye on Oban. She'd wondered whether Aikka would ever know her for who she really was - Eva, not Molly.

Being Eva was nice.

* * *

The pair were safely loaded into the vehicle ("After you, my lady," Aikka had said, gesturing for Eva to enter first, and Eva felt herself blush again) and were sat facing each other in the back portion of the car, Eva being the one to ride backwards.

The door of the car was closed and Eva informed the driver through the intercom what her address was.

"Thank you, Miss. Looks like it'll be about an hour and a half drive," replied the male agent in a polite British accent.

An hour and a half.

Could Eva keep her cool for an entire hour and a half? She could feel that elephant nudging her, prodding at her with impatience.

 _Why did you never contact me? Why did you never call? Why did you never even write?_

"So what have you been doing? Since the race, I mean?" Eva asked instead.

Aikka seemed nearly surprised that Eva wanted to know.

"When I returned from the race and recovered, my mother and father had me sit in on armistice negotiations with the Crogs. Having the Avatar as a personal acquaintance certainly did not harm our ability to convince the Crogs to leave peacefully," Aikka threw Eva a sheepish glance and then continued with his usual grace, "After a peace treaty was signed by both parties, the Crogs left, and I spent a year assisting my parents with the economic transition away from wartime. Then I was selected as a Nourasian representative for this journey, and now I am here."

Eva marveled at how busy the prince had been since the end of the race.

"So, then, this is your first visit to Earth?" Eva asked lightly.

 _Please don't tell me you've been here before without coming to find me._

"It is, indeed. From what I've seen, you have a beautiful planet filled with some interesting people," Aikka smiled.

"Interesting is one word for it. I promise not everyone here is quite as paranoid as those government agents," Eva said, and the two shared a short laugh.

"And you, Eva? I imagine your life was more fun than mine these past few years?" Aikka asked lightly.

It was Eva's turn to be surprised. Nothing she'd done was quite so high-stakes as negotiating armistices and peace treaties and aiding in peacetime economic transitions.

"Fun? I mean, kind of? I went back to high school and graduated, and then I went to college and got a couple degrees, then I went to graduate school and got a Master's...I own my own business now, and I race star racers on the weekends. I had a birthday party for my twenty-fifth...earlier today, actually," Eva admitted, scratching at the back of her head. Had that really been earlier this same evening? It seemed like a week ago.

"Today is your birthday?!" Aikka cried in shock.

"Yeah...yeah I guess it is. Or it was," Eva noted, glancing at her watch. It was well past midnight, meaning the day had passed.

She remembered her party guests and winced, realizing she'd not made contact in at least an hour.

"Hang on, Prince; I need to call my dad."


	4. Enviable

**A/N: so hello. i have returned. that took a while, yeah? yeah.**

 **enjoy**

 **-oxy**

* * *

 _"EVA WEI, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?"_

"I mean, yes, I have an idea. Sorry about that."

 _"'SORRY'?! SORRY IS NOT GOING TO CUT IT THIS TIME, YOUNG LADY!"_

"I am twenty-five years old, Dad. I can make my own decisions and live my own life. And please, stop calling me 'young lady' like you have control over what I do."

 _"I CAN'T_ BELIEVE _YOU SOMETIMES! YOU HAND RICK A_ GUN _AND YOU JUST LEAVE THE HOUSE AND GO OFF ON AN ADVENTURE - WHERE DID YOU EVEN_ GET _A GUN-?"_

"I'll be home soon, Dad. Feel free to lecture me later," Eva replied, and hit the 'End Call' button on her phone.

Aikka looked at her with his eyebrows pulled together, "If I have caused any trouble for you or for your family, I do apologize."

Eva waved him off casually, "He's always up in arms about something, I swear. Overreaction might as well be in his job description."

At Aikka's wary look, Eva continued, "I promise, Aikka, no matter what he says about my 'adventure' this evening, I'm very, very happy to see you again."

"I am very happy to see you again, also," Aikka said, reaching across the short distance between his bench seat and hers and laying a hand on Eva's knee.

Eva stared down at the point of contact and frowned a little, her mouth opening and closing slightly when she couldn't bring herself to say the words she wanted to. Aikka retracted his hand with a worried and questioning look.

"Aikka…" Eva took a deep breath and worked up the courage to say what was on her mind, "When I didn't hear from you for so long, I felt like you didn't _want_ to talk to me. Or see me. And I realize that you must have been busy - you _are_ royalty, and have many duties, after all - but it also made me feel very...I'm not quite sure. But it didn't feel... _good_."

The prince peered at her with concern and something like sorrow.

"I am sorry, Eva. Hurting you was not and has never been my intention. To be very honest, once a cycle on my planet had passed, I remembered that our 'years' are much longer than yours. I assumed that because _you_ had not reached out to _me_ by then, I had missed my window of opportunity, and you no longer wanted to associate with me," Aikka confessed, staring at the floor of the car.

Eva wanted to comfort the prince. What came out was a bitter chuckle of realization. Ten years. Ten years explained away in a few sentences. Somehow, it didn't seem good enough. Somehow, she'd expected more. The truth was disappointing, almost. The bitterness and anger seeped out and when it was gone, Eva felt empty.

"Looks like we both broke a leg jumping to conclusions, huh?" Eva gave a wry smile.

"I suppose we did," Aikka agreed.

The two sat for a while, the gentle thrum of the car's engine through the floor and the centripetal force of a slight curve every now and then the only things that affected them.

"It would be really nice to talk to you once in a while, Aikka," said Eva.

"And I would enjoy contacting you," Aikka said, "so I suppose the two of us will just have to make it happen."

"I suppose we will," Eva said, and smiled.

Aikka smiled right back.

* * *

Eva had _grown_ , Aikka noticed.

Taller by a small margin, yes, but also in confidence. She no longer seemed the frightened, hesitant girl from the race. She stood taller in more ways than one. Eva seemed as if she had come into her own.

Eva said that she turned twenty-five years old, that her birthday had been the day before. She said she'd gone to school to educate herself, to make something of herself. Regardless of whether it was expected of Earthlings by society, it was Eva's choice that guided her life through additional schooling.

Aikka was loathe to admit it, but he was envious of Eva's ability to _choose_.

One cannot choose the circumstances of one's own birth, and being the crowned prince was an awesome and wonderful responsibility, but there were many an occasion when Aikka wished he did not need to put his kingdom's future before his own.

 _Twenty-five years old_ , Aikka marveled as he locked eyes with Eva. He wondered what she thought of him, nineteen years old and by the standards of his people, still a child. Eva's people matured much more quickly than Aikka's.

Eva had already accomplished so much, gone to such lengths to better herself. Ten years had passed on Earth, while only four had passed on Nourasia.

The obscene amount of time that had gone by spurred a darker, more disturbing thought.

 _She likely has found a partner and started a family already._

It felt similar to being thrown into a pillar by a Crog, only worse.

* * *

There just didn't seem to be much to say, if Eva was honest.

The ride to her home had passed in the blink of an eye, and it was as if she and Aikka hadn't spoken at all.

Time _flies_.

She wondered if it was because she suddenly felt exhausted. How long had she been awake? She'd gotten up at five the previous day, and now it was two in the morning…

Pulling up to her home felt surreal - her Nourasian friend was in a car with her in front of her house on Earth.

Suddenly, the back door of the vehicle was opening and a man in a black suit was offering her a hand out into the evening air. She climbed outside and breathed in fresh air, happy to see the stars still out.

There were lights on in her house, but she assumed that the majority of her guests had gone to bed already. Eva suspected only her father would be sitting up for her, if he was even still awake.

The agent drew her attention again.

"Miss Wei, I've been instructed to give you this," said the agent, and he pressed a communicator into her palm. "This device will allow you to contact Prince Aikka for the duration of his stay on Earth."

"How long is that supposed to be, by the way?" Eva asked, trying not to sound as insecure as she felt. She clenched the communicator.

"The Nourasian envoy will be on Earth for a minimum of two weeks. If necessary, the stay will be extended. I hope that answers your question," the man said through his teeth.

The poor agent seemed so uncomfortable providing highly-classified information to someone like Eva. Eva grinned.

"Yes, thank you," said Eva.

"Eva."

Eva turned to see Aikka standing rather close behind her. She raised a brow at him.

Aikka showed her a matching communicator to the one she held in her hand, "These work both ways. I have to return to my party for now, but I'll be in contact, I promise."

"Oh, you promise, do you?" Eva teased, and held out her fist in a mimic of the gesture they'd used before their first race against one another.

"I do," Aikka said, and touched his fist lightly to hers.

Eva yanked the prince into a hug, "I'm glad you're okay. I really was worried earlier when G'dar showed up…"

Aikka tried very hard to suppress the warm feeling that grew in his chest.

"I am fine. Thank you very much for your concern," said the prince.

"I'll talk to you later," said Eva, releasing her friend and making a move toward her house.

"I look forward to it," Aikka replied, and allowed himself to be ushered into the back of the car once more.

Eva stood in front of her house until the car pulled away, waving a couple times as it disappeared around a tree-lined bend.

Upon entering her house, Eva found her father slumped forward on the kitchen counter, asleep. His hair, now entirely gray was messy. He drooled in an unsightly manner across the granite.

Eva sighed and retrieved a blanket from the living room couch and draped it over his shoulders.

 _Let the stubborn bastard be sore in the morning._

She left him a note right in front of his face in thick, black marker, stating she was home safe and sound and that he should only enter her bedroom on penalty of death.

It took her hours to unpack all that'd happened. She stared at the shadowy ceiling of her bedroom and breathed in the comforting and familiar smell of her laundry detergent while pulling her sheets up to her chin.

Aikka had come to visit Earth. G'dar had sought Eva out for SOME reason - she refused to believe it was coincidence. Aikka had put to rest her fears of being abandoned. They'd picked up like they'd seen each other yesterday, not ten years ago.

The galaxy was peaceful, but Eva's thoughts and emotions were tumultuous.

It was hard to get to sleep, but she managed.

She always managed.


	5. Agreeable

**A/N: filler. oops. there'll be better content next time i swear**

 **-oxy**

* * *

Breakfast was interesting, to say the least.

Eva got up early, much earlier than she probably should have. She'd gotten about four hours of sleep and found that she wasn't able to sleep anymore. The sunrise was red, red, red through the trees and she lamented the fact that she'd not closed her curtains before collapsing on her bed.

Her kitchen was blessedly empty, telling her that her dad had woken up at some point in the night and had vacated his spot on the breakfast bar. He'd also kindly cleaned up the massive puddle of drool he'd created, to her immense joy.

She set to work making breakfast for everyone, remembering that she'd seen everyone's cars in the driveway the evening prior when she'd come home, and started the monumental task.

Piles of fluffy pancakes, mounds of eggs, stacks of bacon, and a big pitcher of orange juice next to a stack of square plates sat on her dining room table when she finally stepped away from the eight-burner gas stove.

Eva mixed herself a mimosa, assuming that her father would be a nightmare to deal with if she didn't have at least a little alcohol in her system. As soon as the finished product was in her right hand, she cupped her left around her mouth and shouted.

"DAD, RICK, STAN, KOJI - BREAKFAST IS READY!"

All four of them stumbled into the kitchen in various stages of waking up. All were still clad in pajamas, Rick was scratching at his head, Stan and Koji were rubbing at their eyes, and Don was rolling his neck to get the kinks out of it.

Rick, Stan, and Koji made their way over to the dining table to dig in to the massive piles of food while Don stayed in the doorway and opened his mouth to begin his rant.

Eva held up a hand to stop him, "Dad, I don't wanna hear it. I'm an adult and I can make my own choices. It was G'dar, Aikka's beetle. I decided to go with him to get him back to the prince. He's here on a diplomatic mission from Nourasia for around two weeks."

"Eva, you can't believe how worried I was-!"

" _Dad_! _Enough_! It happened, it's over, and you can't send me to my room or ground me or take anything away from me. I am a grown-ass adult and I can do what I want!" Eva snapped, "Now _sit down_ , and eat your damn breakfast!"

Don seemed at once upset and suitably cowed, so he plopped down onto an open chair and began serving himself from the various stacks of foods.

Their boss's epic dressing-down caused an awkward silence between the other three occupants of the breakfast table. They all glanced back and forth at each other, wondering who would bite the bullet and speak first.

Rick was the bravest, as it turned out.

"How's the prince, Little Mouse?" Rick asked in between bites of scrambled egg.

Eva sat in her own seat at the head of the table and started loading her plate up, "He's good - seems like the war troubles and all that sort of stuff is done on Nourasia. He's been helping his parents with the economic transition back to peace."

"Good to hear," Rick replied.

The five ate in silence until Stan and Koji decided to pipe up.

"Hey, Eva, was there anything you wanted to do today?" Koji asked.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, you're taking this week off, right? From the shop and from racing?" Koji elaborated, "Anything you wanted to do with your vacation?"

"Oh. That. We could go up to Lake Superior if you wanted. We could take a day-trip up to Canada. I could call Aikka and we could all do dinner at this really nice place in the city," Eva rattled off without thinking. There wasn't much to do in the immediate vicinity around her home - that was partially why she'd chosen such a secluded place to live. "We could all just chill out in the home theater - I know a couple of producers and they get me all the movies for Oscar judging ahead of time," Eva offered.

She noticed the eating was slowing down gradually, and her companions began to consider the options she'd laid before them.

"In any case," Eva began as she stood and stretched a little, "I'm going to go take a shower. If one of you wouldn't mind putting away the leftovers, that'd be awesome. I'll be back soon."

Eva polished off her mimosa with a final gulp and set the champagne glass down on the marble tabletop with a loud clatter, and turned to leave the room while throwing a peace sign over her shoulder.

Her shower was brief and refreshing, and upon exiting with a towel wrapped around her damp hair, she noticed the comm device the agent had given her the night before blinking rapidly on her rumpled comforter.

 _*~Good morning, Eva~*_ read the message.

Eva's mouth quirked up in a half-smile and she tapped out a reply on the tiny keyboard.

 _*~Good morning, Prince~*_

* * *

Breakfast at the Earth embassy was an enlightening occasion. It was in the style of group-eating, with one large table containing food surrounded by many smaller tables where an individual would eat their meal with their family or friends. The room was large, the floor made of wood and covered in opulent rugs in a variety of colors and patterns. The walls were a warm orange, and morning light spilled through tall windows.

Aikka had never quite investigated the typical Earth fare as far as meals were considered - it had never seemed important enough to spend time on.

Nourasian morning meals were usually very similar to other daily meals, as they contained a lean, meat-based protein and a grain of some sort. The main purpose of the morning meal was to provide a significant amount of energy without slowing down the body.

Earth meals appeared to be much more languid and geared towards enjoyment of the food itself - Aikka counted fatty meats in at least five different forms, several sugary grains, and round, flat cakes and round cakes with criss-crossing ridges. There were also what appeared to be fruits cut into cubes, spheres, and wedges.

Aikka trusted Canaan to build him a plate of Earth cuisine and sat with two native delegates at a long table.

"Talks won't commence for a few days, Your Highness," said the man who was overwhelmingly distracted with his phone, "so you will have time to explore in the area, if you'd like to."

The delegate's partner glanced at him and frowned in apparent disapproval, and then pushed several sheets of paper towards Aikka across the tabletop.

"I've compiled a list of local and international interests that you may find enjoyable, Your Highness. Of course, all of these are just suggestions and you're welcome to find things that you'd like to see or explore on your own," she said.

It was a very, very long list, noted Aikka as he flipped through the packet of papers. A long list of things that sounded like they would have definite cultural value to Earthlings.

"Thank you," replied the prince, "I appreciate it."

He couldn't imagine that he would visit many of these sites and be able to appreciate the cultural significance of them in the time he had, but it would make sense to keep up appearances and journey to a few of them anyway.

Canaan appeared with several plates, each apparently containing a smattering of everything the buffet had offered.

Aikka was in between bites of green fruit ("honeydew melon," supplied the female delegate helpfully) when the communicator in his pocket beeped quietly.

 _*~Good morning, Prince~*_

A smile stretched across his face without his consent, and he tapped out a query.

 _*~Are you busy today?~*_

 _*~Free as a bird~*_

 _*~Would you come with me on an adventure?~*_

 _*~It would be my honor, Prince~*_

"Which of these areas do you find to be the most interesting or culturally significant?" Aikka asked the more focused of the two Earthlings, gesturing to the many sheets of paper on the table in front of him.

"Oh, um, out of all of them? Wow. If you're looking for something in this country, I would recommend the Grand Canyon as an interesting site," the woman replied.

Aikka smiled gently at her.

"That sounds wonderful; I would like to go."

"Great! We can leave as soon as you're done with breakfast, if you want to."

Aikka glanced down at his communicator, "Yes, but we'll have to make a stop first."


	6. Effervescent

**A/N: no matter which way you swing it, every civilization has conflict in its past. what defines a civilization is how it deals with that conflict.**

 **humanity is beautiful. earth is beautiful.**

 **appreciate your life while you still have it.**

 **Also, someone on FFN (this work is cross-posted over there, btw) asked me what age Aikka is at the beginning of this fic. That gets a little dicey. Nourasian years are 2.5 times longer than Earth years. In Nourasian years, Aikka is 19 at the beginning of this fic. Molly is 25 Earth years at the beginning of this fic. Hope that helps.**

 **anyway, have some plot. have some development.**

 **-oxy**

* * *

"This 'Grand Canyon' - the delegate said that it was interesting. Did you come to that conclusion as well?"

Eva grinned at Aikka's tentative question, "It's a beautiful, beautiful place, Prince. Dad took me there for my sixteenth birthday. It's a massive natural landmark caused by a combination of erosion and tectonic plate movement."

Aikka seemed relieved at her answer, and he glanced out the window at the passing landscape.

The two of them sat across from each other in the back of another armored vehicle. The invitation of adventure had been surprising, but not unwelcome. Eva had abandoned her houseguests without a second thought to spend more time with her friend.

In the daylight, Eva noticed, Aikka looked different and the same at once. His skin was still a deep red-brown, eyes still a piercing blue, hair still auburn. But his jaw had lost some of its softness, the shape of his eyes had become a little sharper. Today, his hair was pulled up into one large ponytail and the headpiece he wore was definitely a different design than it had been during the race - more ornate and in a lighter gold.

"Y'know, Aikka, if you want the best view of the Canyon, we should stick around until sunset. All those reds and oranges? Those cliffs _sing_ ," Eva mentioned wistfully, leaning against her headrest and feeling the thrum of the hover car's engine against her back.

"It sounds lovely," Aikka remarked. His eyes strayed to Eva when he added, "Earth is a beautiful place."

Eva scoffed, " _Earth_ is beautiful, humanity is ugly."

"A fair point," said Aikka, "if one were viewing humanity as being simply the sum of its parts."

Eva cast her eyes back to the Prince, who looked oddly intent on her. She raised a brow at his remark.

"Feeling philosophical, Prince? Alright, how do you view humanity?" Eva wondered.

Aikka took a moment to collect his thoughts. There was much to say, and he wasn't quite sure he had the right words to say it.

"Humanity is not without its problems - a lack of focus on helping, the prevalence of war, the existence of tyrants in Earth's history. However," Aikka looked Eva straight in the eye, "I have seen the capability of Earthlings. The loyalty that Earthlings show to their friends, the deference to pacifism instead of violence, the incredible sacrifices that they are willing to undertake to make the lives of those around them better."

"That's a lot of conclusions for having been on Earth for less than two days, Aikka," Eva deflected.

Aikka smiled so brightly Eva was stunned into silence. "Do not falsely contextualize my conclusions, Eva. I knew all of those things about Earthlings before ever stepping foot on this beautiful planet. Humanity is...astounding."

The context having been understood though it went unsaid, Eva felt her face heating up again.

A moment passed in silence.

Eva cleared her throat, "Well, we should be there in a few minutes. If you have any other extremely deep thoughts to get out, now would be the time."

"I believe I've said all I need to say," Aikka declared, fiddling slightly with the edge of his cloak.

"Good. Now, for all the insights you have about the people of Earth, you must have absolutely no idea about all the really awesome and really shitty food we have here. It would be remiss of me as your local Earth tour guide if I didn't force you to experience Earth culture to the fullest," Eva mentioned with a slightly evil smile, "You ready for lunch, Prince?"

Aikka attempted to hide the trepidation when he said, "Yes?"

* * *

"So, does something similar to this exist on Nourasia?" Eva asked as she and Aikka walked down a well-tended path, eating ice cream from cones, flanked by men and women in dark suits and dark sunglasses conspicuously searching for dangers, all of them lanky and definitely packing concealed firearms.

There were also two Nourasian guards, one male and one female, walking at some distance behind the pair, heavily muscled and clearly armed.

Eva was used to walking around with diplomats and individuals with their own private security, so the tail didn't feel quite so odd to her as it would if she'd been anyone else.

"There are similar food items, yes, but none of them manage to be quite so _messy_ ," Aikka griped as he attempted to stop the treat from melting down his hand.

"Trust me, Prince, it's part of the fun," Eva chuckled as she watched alien royalty frantically cleaning trickles of ice cream from his knuckles.

"What is the purpose of this infernal dessert?!" Aikka exclaimed when he finally managed to get the drips under control.

Eva just laughed and pushed lightly at his shoulder, controlling her own ice cream like the expert she was. She squashed down the joy she felt at the unflappable prince becoming flustered by what was basically frozen, sugary milk.

Aikka had enjoyed lunch, as it consisted of something vaguely familiar to him - a patty of ground red meat surrounded by vegetables and grain-based bread, and long, fried pieces of what Eva insisted was "potato" ("A starchy tuber-root that is typically eaten as a vegetable" supplied helpfully by one of their many escorts). Meat, vegetables, grains; it was mildly comforting to him that Earth had the same staples of major meals.

And then, following what Eva had called "shitty Earth food," they went to a small ice cream stand and got dessert, and walked towards the Grand Canyon Visitors' Center as they consumed their treats.

The two of them spoke about nothing, really - Aikka talked about his schooling and his work as the Prince, Eva talked about her jobs and her home and her yearning to adopt an animal from a nearby shelter. Basic catching-up after the amount of time that had passed was desperately needed.

Eva seemed so engrossed in their smalltalk that she didn't notice the men and women in nondescript clothing with cameras outfitted with telephoto lenses. Aikka, however, did not miss it.

"Vendaal," Aikka said suddenly, cutting off Eva as she was speaking about various breeds of Earth pets. The head of the security team marched forward quickly and stood to his left. "Who are those people and why are they photographing Eva and I?" Aikka gestured vaguely at the small number of photographers.

"The Earth term for those people is 'paparazzi,' and they photograph important people and important events in order to write news reports on those people or events," Vendaal replied. "Unfortunately, they are not doing anything inherently illegal, so I am not able to remove them from this area or stop them from doing what they're doing."

"Hmm, so then they are more bothersome than dangerous?" Aikka clarified.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Don't worry, Prince," Eva chimed in, smiling lightly at him, "A ton of paparazzi cover the races when they happen - they're just a little annoying. Might ask you for a statement or an interview. Just decline, and have them direct questions to the Earth embassy or to Canaan."

Aikka nodded and jumped back into their previous conversation, the paparazzi being ignored for the time.

Eva, it seemed, had decided that a sausage-like creature called a "Dachshund" was the best breed of Earth pet.

* * *

They reached the Visitors' Center at around three o'clock and Aikka picked up pamphlets about the Grand Canyon, explaining what it was and how it was made in only sightly more depth than Eva had managed to. Eva pointed out small trinkets and plush mock-ups of animals that live in the Canyon, in case Aikka felt the need to bring home souvenirs for his family or friends.

They stayed in that place for nearly an hour, examining and admiring.

Eva tugged Aikka outside as soon as he was done perusing the items in the shop and asking his questions to the more than knowledgeable staff.

Aikka admired the red stone - layered in multi-toned red-brown to demonstrate the age of the earth that composed it - and the jagged nature of the tall, tall cliffs. Rock formations stood tall and free, with blue river swirling around them. He wondered how it would feel to stand at the very bottom and look straight up; whether the insignificance he felt at seeing the power of nature at that moment could be compounded by that location.

He looked over at Eva, grinning brightly at his dumbfounded expression, and wondered how even this marvel of time could fail to draw his attention from her for very long.

"Sunset's soon, Aikka. Here, I know the best spot," Eva declared, and manhandled the prince over to one of the many edges surrounded by fencing.

They stood on a solid overlook of the Canyon as the sky was turning a light yellow. And as Eva and Aikka stood there, the sun sank slowly lower and lower, and brilliant oranges and reds lit up the clouds like flames. The river at the bottom of the Canyon reflected silver and luminous.

The two stood until the oranges became the reds and the reds became purples and blues, bruising magnificence across the sky, stunned into silence.

At some point, Aikka reached out and tangled Eva's fingers with his own and held her hand calloused and strong and small against his.

And Eva let him.


	7. Anabatic

**A/N: hey so here's chapter 7 of something that really wasn't supposed to be this long**

 **like jeez**

 **wow**

 **anyway chapter 7 and we're just now getting to the plot, my dears.**

 **oops**

 **-oxy**

* * *

Dinner that evening had been a lavish affair, far too extravagant for Eva's tastes, but she couldn't deny the intense joy she felt at Aikka's confusion. ("Why are they setting the food on fire?""Why is the chef moving the knives in that manner?""What is the purpose of the chef throwing food at the patrons?")

Neither of them mentioned the few moments that they had held hands while standing above the Canyon. Eva didn't mind - it felt nice to hold someone's hand. Nevermind that it was Aikka - unflappable, duty-first Aikka, who was now simultaneously much older and much younger than she was.

Eva and the prince chatted about nothing and everything while eating their dinner, and nothing so heavy as the relative positive or negative character of mankind was brought up, much to Eva's relief. Hearing Aikka wax poetic about her race made her uncomfortable; she'd long ago come to terms with the fact that humanity was generally selfish and horrible, and had begun to put her faith in individuals and not the race as a whole.

Nevertheless, the tremendous expenditure of energy and time that had been dinner came to an end, and once again Eva was brought home by armored vehicle. She stepped out of the door, aided by the prince who seemed reluctant to let go of her hand.

"I still have a few days until the diplomatic talks begin," Aikka mentioned, "if possible, I would like to spend time with you again before then."

"You got it, Prince," Eva replied with a wink and a grin, "just let me know the when, the where, and the what, and I'll be there."

All too soon, Aikka was dropping a very light and very brief kiss to the back of her hand, (she blushed, again) promising to be in contact as soon as he knew his plans, and was stepping back into the armored car.

Her houseguests weren't the most pleased with her when she opened her front door. Stan, Koji, and Rick understood, though, and didn't hold too much against Eva as a result. Don was markedly more upset about her abandoning him than the other three were.

Eva attempted to ignore his angry ramblings as she picked up around the house a little bit, straightening picture frames and pillows and refolding blankets on the backs of her couches.

"Do you have any idea how your actions affect others? Or do you just not care?" Don was ranting.

"Hmm," Eva replied, still walking around her house and finding more things to clean up.

Don turned an interesting shade of red at his daughter's non-reply.

"That's quite enough disrespect from you, young lady! I've come all the way here to celebrate your birthday with you, and you've done nothing but ignore me since that prince of yours showed up!" Don exclaimed with a snarl in his voice.

Eva dropped the pillow she'd been fluffing and whirled around to face her father.

"And that's enough from _you_! You have no right to be upset at me for doing what I want to do with my time! I've wasted so much of my life waiting for you that now you get to wait for _me_ for a while!" Eva shouted angrily.

Don was stunned into silence.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have some work to get done and I don't want you around here distracting me," Eva continued, scooped up her dad's car keys from the bowl by the door and tossed them at him.

"Eva, I-"

"Get out of my house. Go back home. I'll call you when I can speak with you again," Eva commanded.

She didn't turn to face her father when he eventually trudged out the front door several minutes later with his heavy overnight bag, bound for his own home states away in New York.

Fights like this were more common than Eva liked to admit. They attended all the family therapy they could bear and eventually resolved to work out their problems themselves, though it seemed they weren't doing a very good job of it.

Well, what she'd said rang true in any case. Reprimanding Eva in her own home as if she were a small child was just too much - she couldn't deal with it. It didn't matter if he felt like she was wasting her time or abandoning her friends, because spending time with someone she may _never_ see again was far more important.

She could always talk or visit with her dad, or Rick, or Stan, or Koji - but after his diplomatic mission came to an end, Eva may never see Aikka again.

Speaking of her Earthling friends, they departed soon after Don vacated the premises. Stan and Koji muttered something about needing to get back to their garage in Texas, and Rick played the wife card, saying he needed to head home to Spain.

Eva's home was empty in a matter of hours, and she still had a few days off of work to enjoy the peace.

First, however, was the matter of cleaning up the mess that'd been left behind by her houseguests.

Eva wondered whether she really wanted to clean up right then or ask Aikka about tomorrow's plans.

"I hate being an adult," Eva grumbled when logic and common sense won out and she went to grab the cleaning supplies from under her kitchen sink.

She resolved to message Aikka tomorrow morning.

* * *

Aikka started slightly when his communicator chimed. He placed the spoon back into the bowl of 'yogurt' and pulled the device out of his pocket, grinning at the message he'd received.

 _*~You busy?~*_

 _*~My official business does not begin for three more days, and I have no plans until then.~*_

 _*~Wanna come experience some Earth culture?~*_

 _*~It would be my pleasure, Eva~*_

* * *

"I know you're here to experience Earth, Prince," Eva began as the two of them walked along the Fisherman's Wharf, tailed by three Earthlings and two Nourasian guards, "but I really can't help but ask about Nourasia."

Aikka smiled at her, "What would you like to know?"

"Anything you want to tell me, really. People, cuisine, social structure, architecture - it must be an incredibly diverse place, just like Earth, but I'd love to know even the most basic things," Eva admitted.

"Alright," said Aikka, "it may take a while - how about we discuss it over dinner?"

"I know a great seafood place," Eva mentioned, gesturing at every restaurant within one hundred feet. She flashed the prince with a blinding smile filled with mirth.

"I'll defer to your good judgement, Eva," Aikka said, bowed, and admired the way Eva's cheeks flooded pink.

She gripped the prince's hand and dragged him into the nearest place touting excellent clam chowder, the two were seated with their entourage nearby, and Aikka launched into a slightly watered-down version of Nourasian history.

"As you well know, Nourasia is ruled by a limited monarchy…"

Aikka told Eva the legends of the Old Gods that created the world and blessed the royal family with exceptional powers of magic and grace - enough to protect the people and keep the peace, and nothing more. He expressed his own skepticism about the Old Gods; given the knowledge of the law of gravity, it seemed unlikely that any sentient beings created a planet.

He spoke about Nourasian mounts - massive beetles and scorpions and centipedes, some flying, some land-bound. Aikka's own mount was from a long line of flying beetles bred for his family and those who protected them, and G'dar had chosen him when he was but an infant.

Mammalian creatures, significantly smaller than the massive insects, weren't used for transportation but companionship. Aikka told Eva of several creatures resembling Earthen dogs and cats, though they were infinitely more dangerous when untrained due to their poisonous breath or venomous spines. Trained and socialized properly, though, they were loyal to the death and great protectors.

"You asked about architecture, yes?" Aikka asked suddenly, as Eva was trying to imagine cats with venomous spines.

"Yes!" Eva confirmed in between taking bites of her chowder.

"The buildings and layout of the Holy City of Dol, the oldest city on Nourasia - they were truly magnificent," Aikka said wistfully, "Great white shining stone spires and temples stretched up to scrape at the sky. The streets were laid out in a way that made no sense, and you could get lost for hours and hours, but always find your way back."

"It sounds beautiful," Eva said, a small smile quirking at her lips. She tried to imagine the enormous structures, figuring they looked something like ancient Italian cathedrals.

A shadow passed over the prince's face, "My parents and retainers took me to visit many times in my youth before the Crog occupation - indeed, it was," the prince said, and fell silent shortly thereafter.

Eva knew very well the reasoning behind Aikka's actions during the Race; how the Crogs had been holding the peaceful Nourasia hostage for years. She knew how that race of monsters had threatened Aikka's parents, knew that they'd ransacked cities across the planet to intimidate the Nourasians into an alliance. Sympathy for her friend bloomed deep in her chest, and she bit back a grimace.

Aikka's hand lay on the tabletop, clenched into a tense fist. Eva reached out and very gently placed her palm on his knuckles, conveying her acknowledgement of his pain and loss without saying anything.

* * *

Later that same evening, when Eva was wringing out her hair after her shower, she glanced at the TV in her room with the local news station playing on it.

There was a picture of Eva comforting Aikka in the chowder joint, and pictures of them holding hands at the Canyon. There was a slight sinking feeling in her stomach.

 _"...and in celebrity news, Star Racing Champion Eva Wei was seen around the country with who we've now confirmed to be Prince Aikka of Nourasia, visiting Earth as part of a diplomatic envoy. We have no confirmed reports regarding why Nourasia has sent their prince to Earth, or what will be discussed during his visit, though we are told by the United Earth Government that talks will commence within the next two days,"_ said the anchor with the too-bright lipstick and clashing mauve jacket.

Her male co-host pointed out the hand-to-hand contact in the photos, _"Looks like our resident Star Racing Champion has found herself a new squeeze!"_

Eva's blood ran cold.

The female host continued, not reacting, _"Eva Wei is 25 years old and has won ten intergalactic star racing championships since her appearance on the scene at the age of eighteen. She's appeared on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for six years in a row, and is the daughter of Don Wei, famous race manager and racing coach. It is unclear how Miss Wei has garnered the attention of Nourasian royalty, but we will keep you updated with more news as it breaks."_

 _"Relations with Nourasia have been tense since Earth was informed that Nourasia was assisting the Crogs in their campaign against the galaxy, and the United Earth Government claims that since the end of the war, Nourasia has reached out to our leaders in hopes of an alliance or partnership,"_ said the male host.

Eva switched the TV to another news channel -

 _"-appears they were expecting some kind of trouble, with several armed guards walking in formation around them the whole time-"_

-and another-

 _"-holding_ hands _with the Prince, watching the sunset together-"_

-and another-

 _"-may expect a happy announcement soon, what with the way the two of them were hanging around each other the past couple of days-"_

-and another-

 _"-have expressed displeasure with the Nourasian visit to Earth, claiming that past relations with Nourasia have only caused Earth casualties."_

-until she ran out of news stations to view.

Every station. It was on every news station she could think of.

Eva switched the TV off, horror growing in her chest.

She needed to talk to Aikka. Now.


	8. Entropic

**A/N: hey look it me**

 **sorry i've been MIA ive been in FFXV hell**

 **like im seriously considering making a series out of all the FFXV works ive posted and just calling it "fucking help me im in FFXV hell"**

 **anyway**

 **here's a new chapter of ELE - this one has some PLOT my GOODNESS thank GOODNESS the plot is happening.**

 **or maybe not thank goodness bc when i put plot in all my shit starts falling apart.**

 **it's awesome.**

 **hope u enjoy guys**

 **love u bye**

 **-oxy**

* * *

Focus on Eva was not something she wanted.

Media focus on Eva was the result, usually, of her Star Racing victories. That focus lasted for a couple of days and was something she could generally ignore and it would go away on its own. There was no more attention on her than on pro athletes on the average day.

 _This_ kind of focus - this was the kind of focus that she knew would be around for a little while longer than normal. She was photographed holding hands with the prince of a planet Earth had once considered hostile, or at least abetting Earth's enemy. She was photographed and caught on video in places the outside observer would consider romantic with someone. Someone who was visiting Earth for diplomatic talks, to resolve conflict between their planets and strike up an alliance.

This was the kind of focus that would lead journalists to dig into Eva's private life - her family, her friends, her background. And while she could handle a few inquiries into why she'd met with all the Presidents who'd been in office from her fifteenth year onward, she didn't fancy being stalked by reporters. She didn't want her home to be compromised, either. She didn't want the homes of her friends or her father to be invaded.

 _~*Aikka we have a problem*~_ Eva had tapped out on the small device and then made a frantic call to her PR guy who was already trying to manage damage control.

 _"I'm guessing you saw the news, too,"_ Erik mentioned on the other end of the phone.

He did NOT sound happy.

"Erik, I'm sorry - I should've told you about Aikka but it just slipped my mind-" Eva blurted out.

 _"Too late now - hey!"_ Erik pulled away from his mic to shout at someone about something and then he was talking in Eva's ear again, _"We're gonna need to step up security at your house and your dad's house. I've told everyone you have no comment about recent events but I'm not gonna be able to keep them satisfied with that for long. I need the whole story and I need it as soon as you can get it to me."_

Eva rubbed at her tired, tired eyes, "I can't."

 _"You...can't?"_ Erik asked incredulously.

"The story is classified," Eva said.

 _"'Classified' like…'_ classified _'?!"_

"'Classified' like 'I will go to jail for the rest of my life or be executed for telling you' _classified_."

Eva's communicator chimed from her lap and she glanced down.

 _*~What's wrong, Eva?*~_

 _*~Turn on the news. Get Canaan and your Earth PR guy*~_

Erik groaned from his end of the phone, _"Eva, God's sake-"_

"Erik I'll work on getting permission from the President but I need some good spin until I can manage that. Can you do that for me?" Eva asked.

 _"You're in deep, Eva, you're in real deep and I can't see a way back up from here,"_ Erik grumbled.

"Can you do that for me, or not?" Eva repeated.

 _"...I'll see what I can do. Eva, some of the worst claims I'm seeing is that you're an ally to the Crogs,"_ said Erik.

Eva let the gravity of the statement wash over her for a moment, going completely silent for a beat. Her tactics had to change - everyone needed to know the truth about the Race or she would be run off the planet, along with her Nourasian friends.

"If we can get the story declassified, all that will go away, Erik, I swear," Eva said.

She glanced down again when the communicator chimed.

 _~*Eva, there's a car being sent to your house to bring you to the Embassy*~_

 _"I hope you're right about that,"_ Erik said, and there was a _click_ of him hanging up the phone.

Eva threw some clothing into a duffel bag just in case she got stuck at the Embassy for a long time. She wanted to pack a weapon, but she didn't.

The focus on her would never go away, not when the public knew that she had won the Great Race along with Jordan, but at least people wouldn't be overwhelmingly hostile toward her.

Declassification of the story of the Great Race would clear her name. She needed to talk to President Wong and get that series of documents containing her debriefing and the debriefing of her father and Stan and Koji and Rick released to the press so that they could stop dragging her through the mud.

She was on the front steps of her house and about to step into the big black vehicle when she realized - if declassified, all of the broken pacts, the sabotages, the actions of all of Earth's competitors during the Race would be made public as well.

The documents may clear Eva's name, but the delicate relations between Earth and Nourasia would come to an end.

They may end up on the cusp of another war.

* * *

Eva found herself sitting across from Aikka in a lavish room at the Earth Embassy. Government representatives paced. Nourasian representatives paced. Aikka sipped tea, and Eva fidgeted with her hands, picking at the dry skin.

"I cannot _believe_ that you have been so irresponsible!" Canaan scolded Aikka, and Aikka stared defiantly at him.

"Whatever has been done is now in the past, Canaan. What we must focus on now is how to rectify the situation. Anger will not solve any of this," Aikka declared sagely.

Canaan rounded on Eva, who suddenly found herself fascinated with her fingernails and unwilling to meet his blue eyes.

" _You_!" Canaan accused, and Eva flinched, "You have been nought but trouble for Nourasia since we encountered you! Observe what your actions have wrought!"

Eva felt her face heating, and she curled in on herself slightly.

"Canaan," Aikka said warningly, staring at the older Nourasian.

Canaan ignored the Prince and plowed forth, taking a menacing step towards Eva where she cowered slightly in her chair, "You have damaged His Highness's relations with the Earth Government with your frivolous and flagrant disregard for appropriate conduct! What were you thinking? A common Earth peasant should never have been seen with the Prince in the _first place_!"

"You will _not_ speak to her that way!" Aikka growled and leapt from his seat, moving to stand just in front of his advisor, "She is the victor of the Great Race, and as such Eva stands at a much higher station than you, Chamberlain! It would do well for you to remember yourself!"

Canaan's mouth opened as if he wished to speak, though Aikka continued without pause.

"And furthermore, she is a _lady_! You are a _Knight_! Look at how you've intimidated her with your coarse speech and crude actions!" Aikka gestured to his Earthen companion where she sat silently, head bowed. "Your behavior today will be reprimanded when I send word of it to my father, I promise you this."

Canaan, to his credit, appeared remorseful as he gazed at the red and black hair of the cowed Race victor. He offered a short bow, though Eva didn't see it, and murmured, "Apologies, My Lady."

The three of them existed in silence for a short while, Aikka deeming it alright to sit back in his chair and Canaan moving a suitable distance away from Eva.

"No, it's okay - Canaan is right," Eva said in a wavering voice, "I wasn't thinking - it seems that part of me hasn't changed, at least. I didn't consider that there would be a problem. I just - I hadn't seen you in ten years, Prince, and I just couldn't stay away."

Aikka stared at her, a crease between his eyebrows and a downward turn to his mouth.

"Eva…" the Prince trailed off, and then huffed out a quiet laugh, "If I remember correctly, _I_ was the one continually creating opportunities for us to spend time together. If anything, I am more culpable than you are," at this, he stood from his chair again and moved to kneel before Eva, gathering both of her hands in his own and meeting her burgundy eyes with his impossible blue.

"It is quite alright, Eva. We've gotten ourselves into this mess, but I believe we can get ourselves out of it," Aikka concluded, shooting Eva a hopeful smile.

* * *

 _"-obviously a Crog sympathizer; Wei must have been supplying them with information on Earth's defenses or the locations of Earth colonies on other planets-"_

 _"-likely was promised a position high in the Nourasian Palace for the blueprints of Earth battle cruisers-"_

 _"-several online forums are calling for the location and detention of Eva Wei, a Star Racing Champion who was seen fraternizing with Prince Aikka of Nourasia. All sources speculate that Wei was supplying the Nourasians with critical information about Earth battle forces during the Crog War. We attempted to reach the Earth Embassy for comment from its Nourasian guests, but they declined. Wei could also not be reached for comment, and the United Earth Government is retaining its silence."_

* * *

"As you all well know," President Wong began without preamble, "the incident of the Great Race of Oban, including all details of the Crog armada's sudden destruction, all debriefing notes, and the data regarding unknown alien craft landing planetside, is classified above Top Secret. The only individuals on Earth who are aware of this incident are either in this room currently or are sworn to strict secrecy, the breakage of which will result in a charge of treason.

"In light of recent events," Wong paused and glanced at Eva and Aikka, who sat next to one another around the huge circular table, "it has been brought to my attention that the press has gotten photographs of Nourasian Prince Aikka and Race victor Eva Wei in compromising positions.

"It matters not how this came to be; what matters at this stage is the amount of damage control this government is able to provide. There is _no_ way that I can declassify the Great Race Incident - to do so would put the delicate relations between Nourasia and Earth at risk. This government would not take action without my word, but I can assure you that Earth inhabitants would call for war once they found out about the actions of Nourasia during the Race.

"Speculation about this incident is not going to die down. The press has not received comment from Miss Wei's representative, the United Earth Government, nor the Nourasian Prince, and they hunger like vultures for any new piece of information they can stuff down their miserable beaks," the President sighed. "At this point, Miss Wei's life is in danger, her father's life is in danger, and His Highness the Prince's life is in danger. There have been numerous threats against all three of them in recent hours."

President Wong stared around the room at the collected representatives of various countries with wide brown eyes, dark circles and graying hair making her look positively exhausted.

"Long story short, we need a response to the question the public is asking: why the hell is Eva Wei hanging around the Prince of Nourasia - a planet which once held alliance with the Crogs - _if they've never met before_?"


	9. Abrupt

**A/N: hey another one**

 **plot(TM) happens here**

 **oof**

 **get ready my dudes**

 **-oxy**

* * *

The attire for the event was extraordinarily formal, and so stuffy Eva felt like her back was wrenched into a severe upright just so she could breathe. The stiff white jacket was fitted - very fitted - while the skirt they'd put her in flowed when she moved while still somehow managing to restrict her gait. At least her minders had allowed her two pairs of shoes; heels for the announcement and flats for the short stint around the gathered press afterward.

Her hair, longer than she remembered it ever being, was twisted into a smooth mass of black and red curls cascading around her shoulders. She felt too dressed-up - constricted.

Eva's racing gear was much more comfortable and functional than this - whatever this was. She took one last glance in the mirror at the overkill makeup some stranger had applied for her and sighed heavily.

"Eva?"

She whirled around to see Aikka entering the green room. His posture screamed formality, but his face expressed something like trepidation.

The prince's hair was a mixture of tight plaits and loose ponytails, two of each adorning his royal head. He wore heavy white clothing, his hips and shoulders criss-crossed with red and gold fabrics inscribed lightly with some sort of runes. He'd forgone a chest plate - or perhaps his stylist had? - and kept instead with simple red spaulders and a red wrist-guard.

"I must ask you one final time - are you quite sure that you wish to continue with this plan?" Aikka crossed the small room and picked up Eva's left hand, holding it in both of his own as one may cradle a small, frightened animal.

Eva flashed him a wry smile, "If I weren't sure, do you think I'd be standing here looking this ridiculous?"

Her attempt to lighten the mood obviously didn't go over very well with the Prince.

"That was not my meaning," Aikka muttered, bowing his head slightly and closing his eyes. Then he fixed Eva with the most intense stare she'd ever been privy to - eyes peered like chips of afternoon sky right through her, "Eva - you have the rest of your life ahead of you. Are you sure you want to spend it in this way?"

Eva raised her right hand to join the already-clasped ones. The corner of her mouth quirked up as she observed the mild trembling that'd caught her friend's hands. She tried to find the right words - words to stop the shaking. Words to reassure.

"Aikka, please understand me when I say that I would fight the entire Crog armada _by myself_ if it meant that Earth and Nourasia would be safe - if it meant that you would be safe," Eva added, "I think that getting engaged is pretty easy, in comparison."

Aikka seemed relieved, but only just.

"Eva, I was born royalty. I have no problem doing my duty for my people, whatever that may mean. You were born with choice - you do not need to do this if you do not want to."

"Hey," said Eva, and placed a fingertip under Aikka's chin to tilt his face up so she could meet his eyes again, "we got ourselves into this mess, right? I think this is the best way we're gonna find to get out of it."

The tension bled out of Aikka's posture and he huffed out a quick breath before stepping even closer to her hesitantly. He pressed his lips to the back of her left hand and then bent down to do the same to her forehead.

"You seem to know just what to say," Aikka chuckled, maneuvering the two of them into an embrace. There was a pregnant silence, and then Aikka asked against Eva's hair, "Are you prepared to face the vulturous masses?"

Eva pulled back and held out her fist, knuckles first, waiting for Aikka to bump it with his. She delighted in the tiny smile that stretched across Aikka's face.

"As I'll ever be, Prince."

* * *

Aikka was not reluctant to admit that he stared at Eva. He stared at the smooth curls and the flowing skirt and the fitted white coat. The Prince stared at the woman who was so familiar and yet so strange all at once.

The formality of her clothing made her uncomfortable, and Aikka agreed that the oil-stained, leather boots and baggy cargo pants suited her infinitely better than these pristine vestments did. The crown of her head seemed empty without the cracked pink goggles she carried with her everywhere.

Aikka stood back and observed as cameras flashed and flashed while Canaan stepped up to make a statement. While the President stepped up to make a statement.

 _Eva_.

His friend. His companion. His _betrothed_.

Reaching a decision had taken significantly less time than one may expect for something so drastic. But soon, all other options were exhausted and the summit was left with the obvious: a political marriage to tie the two planets together. Who better than Eva Wei, a Star Racing Champion with a wealth of experience racing against alien species and striking up amicable friendships with her opponents in the process?

Why had the two of them gone out on so many outings together when they had no way of knowing each other beforehand? Obviously, they would be part of an arranged marriage. Archaic, yes, but the best way to quell the animosity. This way, there didn't have to be a war - no classified debriefings would be released to the public.

It had been convincing the King and Queen of the necessity of the engagement that had been the most lengthy piece of the puzzle. A week was spent in negotiations with the United Earth Government and the King and Queen of Nourasia. They requested to speak separately and in private with both Eva and Aikka, requests easily granted by the President.

("My son," Aikka's father had fretted over a private channel when Aikka was alone, "this was one freedom I had wished never to be taken from you. The ability to choose your bride was to be yours and yours alone."

"Father, if I were ever to choose _anyone_ , it would always be her."

From his father's right side, Aikka's mother offered him a knowing look.)

"The Prince and his retinue are currently planetside, and we will be holding the first wedding ceremony in the capital city of Eva's country of residence, Washington, D.C.," President Wong was informing the public, ignoring dutifully the constant clicking of cameras, "The second wedding ceremony will take place on Nourasia, at a venue of King Lao's choice."

Aikka could not imagine the logistics that went into organizing two weddings on extremely short notice, but the public had to believe that the marriage had been agreed on long before his visit to Earth. Thus, they needed to happen quickly and _perfectly_ to avoid public suspicion.

So he stood next to Eva and watched her flinch minutely at the uproarious press, just barely enough for him to notice. He reached out slowly and clasped her left hand loosely in his right in order to provide what comfort he could, his thumb stroking over the back of it.

Aikka watched the nerves disappear from her stance instantly, and watched her head raise a fraction in confidence. The wine red of her eyes, so much like the beloved blossoms worn by his people, shone bright with resolve.

His breath stuttered out of him in a staccato and his heart started beating much more quickly.

A political marriage was a cunning solution to an otherwise extremely messy situation.

It was also the means by which Aikka found himself as flustered as a young boy confronted with the object of his affections.

"No further questions," said the President to a flurry of agitated reporters.

Aikka and Eva were escorted away from the flashing cameras and - now shouting - reporters with all the urgency their entourage could muster. Aikka took the lead out of the two of them, ensuring Eva didn't trip over the heavy skirts as she stepped down the stairs. He was pleased to see Canaan bringing up the rear, looking slightly more on guard than usual, as if he were ready to go to battle for the two of them at any moment.

The Prince locked eyes with his advisor over Eva's head as she took the last couple of steps down off the platform and saw the older Nourasian nod once. Aikka then understood what Canaan was attempting to communicate - Aikka would have Canaan's full support.

This was comforting, to say the least.

Confidence swelled in Aikka's chest, and he let go of Eva's hand in order to link his arm with hers instead. The small smile that spread across her lips sent a fluttering through his abdomen.

With Canaan behind him and Eva beside him, Aikka believed he could accomplish anything.


	10. Efficacious

A/N: Hey, so I don't usually address this kind of thing in Author's Notes - I'd prefer to deal with it using private messaging. However, this anon left me a guest review and I have no way of contacting them except through this medium. So, here we are:

Please _**do not ask me to update this story**_. Please do not review with requests that I update this story. Please do not contact me in any way and ask me for updates to this story. I swear to you, the updates that happen to this story occur the _second_ I'm done writing them - I'm not even intelligent enough to have a Beta to look them over for me before I shove them right under your noses. I do not in any way or at any time withhold complete and coherent content from you.

Updates to this story will happen as soon as they're done being written, and no sooner. Requests for updates actually delay the progress, in my mind, because all of a sudden I'm under pressure whereas prior to those requests I am able to let my mind wander and be creative and process things at my own pace.

So please, do not request that I update. It really does nobody any good.

Thanks!

Also, forgive me if my writing style has changed drastically - I think that writing so many academic papers has kind of murdered my ability to write creatively in a flowery way, which is very sad.

-oxy

* * *

 _There's a reason political figures are heavily guarded when away from their compounds and palaces and fortresses,_ Eva mused as one of the Nourasian guards quite literally picked up and _threw_ someone who'd made a run at her and Aikka.

"We need to get the two of you out of here!" Canaan exclaimed, holding off part of the mob himself.

The Earth agents surrounding the party just received authorization to use deadly force, and Eva saw a few of them fighting vicious smiles as they drew their guns. Those humans who had been all ready to fight suddenly backed down, wary of being injured or killed.

"Your Highness," called the driver of a black vehicle at the roadside around twenty feet away.

The driver beckoned frantically at the pair, and once Aikka was given the go-ahead from his guard and the agents of the UEG, the prince pulled Eva along with him into the safer and quieter confines of the car. The car started moving as soon as the door was closed, and Eva realized just how uncomfortable she was in her outfit.

Eva was immediately unzipping the stiff coat so she could breathe better and pulling off the tight shoes.

A small screen lit up at the push of a button, and Eva began watching the news coverage of the recent engagement announcement while yanking pins out of her hair to try and alleviate her headache. There was a soundless video of her and Aikka standing well back from the podium the President was speaking at, and the two anchors spoke back and forth to each other while gesticulating frantically at the video.

" _-unclear when this union was decided upon, but we do know that His Highness approves! Take a gander at that_ look _he's throwing her!"_

" _Definitely, Leah; it seems like_ both _of them are quite happy with the prospect. The public has some mixed feelings, though, as there were protests outside of the UN building following the announcement."_

Eva took a cursory glance over at Aikka, and saw that he, too, was blushing furiously with his eyes fixed on the screen.

" _Star Racer Pilot Eva Wei is quite the catch - ten championships and her own internationally-recognized Star Racer service shop is nothing to sneeze at. If there were any person to choose for a marriage to an alien dignitary, it would be her."_

" _The UEG is reporting new details on this story every few hours, and so far we know that the wedding will take place two weeks from now and will be held in the historical Downtown Church in Washington, D.C. The event will be closed to the public, save for twenty members of select press agencies and the bride and groom's close friends and family. We've been informed that the Prince's parents will not be in attendance, as they will preside over the ceremony on Nourasia, instead."_

Aikka's parents wouldn't be coming for the Earth ceremony, then. Eva looked over to see whether Aikka was upset by this development, and found that he was just still staring at the screen. Maybe it was Princely Poise that kept him from reacting, or maybe it was that he wasn't as focused on the Earth ceremony as he was the Nourasian one.

The partition between the front and back seats of the vehicle suddenly began descending, and a hand reached through to present Eva with a communicator. The news broadcast was placed on mute.

"Lady Eva," said the Nourasian soldier, a grim set to his mouth, "your father would like to speak with you, if you will permit it."

Eva grasped the communicator and held it several inches away from her ear, murmured a short greeting and then waited for her father to quite literally short out the puny speaker of the device.

He didn't disappoint.

She couldn't catch all of it because at some points he was so loud she either couldn't decipher him or no noise came through at all.

He shouted things at her regarding the wedding(s), her choice in partner and him being an alien, and her moral composition in general.

In short, Don Wei didn't approve.

Eva didn't give a shit.

There was a solid minute of Don screaming at her through the communicator, and at some point Aikka had weaved his fingers through Eva's in order to provide some kind of comfort.

The second her dad paused to take a breath and then continue his rant, Eva broke in smoothly.

"Dad, I can't talk about this right now."

With that, Eva ended the call and clenched the communicator so tightly she wondered if she might break it.

Okay, so maybe she gave a little bit of a shit.

Her personal phone had been so inundated with messages and calls that she'd turned it off before the press conference even began, but not before seeing a brief flash of a text from Stan and Koji with several heart symbols attached to it.

The whole affair had been such a whirlwind that she'd not properly explained to her dad why she had agreed to the union in the first place, and now she got to hear exactly what he thought about her current situation.

Eva was 25 years old, and yet whenever her dad criticized her she felt like she was a child again. Her eyes grew damp and she scrubbed at them with the back of her free hand.

"Eva?" Aikka asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

Eva glanced over at her companion. He looked worried.

"I'll be fine - I'm tired, is all. It's just been a little overwhelming to deal with him lately, and all of this," Eva made a gesture that indicated everything and nothing about the situation, "has just made everything worse."

Aikka stared at her with a worried crease in between his eyebrows. The hand that held Eva's squeezed a little tighter.

"Eva," Aikka began and then paused as if he didn't know how to continue.

There was a long moment of silence punctuated only by the desynchronous patterns of Aikka and Eva's breathing and the occasional sniffle on the part of the Earthling.

Aikka finally seemed to figure out what he wanted to say, and he made sure Eva was paying attention before he said it.

"Eva, please know that I never intended for anything remotely close to our current situation. I deeply regret the intrusion into your private affairs, and I am very sorry that your life has been so altered by my presence to cause you such distress. I only hope that one day you might regain your lost peace after all of this calms down-"

"Aikka."

"-and I am aware that we have discussed it before, but you are in no way obligated to harbor any romantic feelings towards me; I am perfectly content to remain friends with you during our marriage-"

"Aikka!" Eva interrupted. She placed a hand under Aikka's chin and tilted his head up so she could make him focus, "Enough! Take a breath! I can hear you starting to panic, and it's making me panic, so please calm down a little?"

Eva demonstrated the process of inhaling and exhaling deeply and gestured in a way that implied Aikka should follow her example. The prince acquiesced and in no time the two were breathing calmly in sync.

As soon as Aikka had reached what was apparently an acceptable level of calm, Eva sagged slightly and rubbed at her temples.

"I don't think I have the energy to unpack all of the things you just tried to say, Aikka, but I think the gist of it was that you were worried that I was mad at you for some reason? Is that right?" Eva asked tiredly.

Aikka nodded.

"Aikka, I will repeat this as many times as it takes to get it through your currently-dense head - I absolutely do not regret being your friend or hanging out with you, not for one minute. Do I think that things are ever going to go back to the way they were before now? Probably not, but that's okay because without shit like this, life would be boring. I'm happy that this happened because it's going to make me a different person than I was yesterday, or the day before that. It's just a little hard to see that right now, and just _everything_ has me feeling really, really tired."

Eva gathered both of Aikka's hands in hers and stared at the prince intensely, "And I need you to know that as long as you're on my team, I can't fucking lose."

Aikka's somber expression split in a smile the likes of which Eva couldn't quite place. Perhaps it was wry.

"I feel much the same, Eva," the prince chuckled, "And again, you've found the words I needed to hear the most."

A wave of relief washed over Eva's very bones.

"What can I say?" The racing champion began, "It's all I got. How do you think I got this far to begin with? Pure charisma," she concluded jokingly.

Aikka didn't seem to take it as a joke. He stared at Eva with blazing blues and appeared to think very hard.

"No...no, I don't think so," said Aikka, "I think you underestimate yourself."

"Maybe," Eva acknowledged.

She turned her attention back to the muted news coverage and the headlines scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Breaking news about various news outlets publishing apologies for the unsubstantiated reports of Eva's alleged collusion with the Crogs via Nourasian fraternization. Eva cocked a brow at some of the titles.

There were a few sources holding out their suspicions even with the statements by the President and the other members of the UEG. Even with the muted status of the video, Eva winced every now and again at the names they used to refer to her and Aikka.

"We have two weeks until we get hitched," Eva mentioned, and she felt more than saw Aikka startle slightly after her long silence. "Do you know what the plan for us is until then?"

"I believe we're being brought to a safe location for the time being and will be given further direction once there," Aikka answered.

"Any idea how long we'll be in the car?"

"No."

Eva hunted around in the back of the back of the car and found an overnight bag that had obviously been put there for her. She dug some makeup wipes out of the outside pocket and started scrubbing at her eyes to try and feel a little less gross.

She went through at least three wipes before she cast her eyes back to the prince.

"Mind if I take a nap?" Eva asked as she removed the false eyelashes.

"No - by all means," Aikka replied.

Just as soon as she felt she'd removed all the war paint she could, Eva bunched up all the wipes and put them as far away from herself as she could. After that point, she couldn't remember much at all, except that she'd balled up the jacket that she had shed earlier in an attempt to me more comfortable and leaned against the car window with it between her and the cold glass.

The rest was lost to the thrum of the car's engine and the faint spicy smell that her companion carried with him.

Fifteen minutes after Eva had fallen asleep, Aikka was aware of a rhythmic shuffling sound that he couldn't place. He glanced over and saw Eva shivering against the window, causing the sound of fabric sliding on fabric.

Aikka removed his coat as quietly as he could and draped it over Eva, tucking the ends gently around her to keep in as much warmth as possible.

He wondered about her. He wondered whether she would ever find the kind of peace and happiness she deserved after all that she had already done to earn it. He wondered whether she had really meant what she'd said - _as long as you're on my team, I can't fucking lose._

He pondered their engagement and what it meant. Such a marriage was a benefit to both of their planets. Earth and Nourasia would be closer allies than ever.

Aikka was secretly, selfishly pleased that this was the result of the mess that had been made. He hadn't lied in the slightest when he'd told his father that Eva would have been the one he would've chosen if he'd had the choice in the first place.

Perhaps that was why he kept going out of his way to apologize for all the trouble that Eva had been caused.

Eva was shivering again, even under Aikka's coat.

He normally would have asked permission to do what he did next, because that would have been the most polite thing to do, but he did not ask permission.

Aikka carefully reached over and grasped Eva's shoulders. He shifted the two of them until Eva was leaning against his shoulder while he leaned against his own window, his coat covering both of them.

She seemed to not be as cold, at least, leaning against Aikka's body. Under the weak glow of the car's interior lights, Eva's eyelashes cast inky shadows that stretched down to the tips of the tattoos on her cheeks.

Aikka wrapped an arm around her shoulders to pull her more solidly against himself and sighed.

He appreciated Don Wei if only for the fact that he was part of the reason that Eva was alive, but the moment he saw tears gathering in Eva's eyes because of Don Wei, well…

If Aikka and Eva were ever in the same place as Don Wei, the older man would have to watch his words and his behavior, because Aikka refused to see the pain that such harsh speech caused again. Eva's father or not, it was Aikka's job to protect his betrothed from as much pain as he possibly could.

Aikka could tell that the car was reaching its destination, despite lack of any distinct visual cues that would say anything like that. The car was slowing down and taking more turns, which told Aikka that they were no longer on the long, wide roads with high speeds and instead were on more tightly-packed streets with more traffic.

The partition rolled down and Vendaal stared through the gap at Aikka and Eva. Aikka made a universal 'be quiet' gesture at him and pointed to Eva's sleeping form.

Vendaal nodded and jerked his head to the side to indicate that Aikka should exit the vehicle with Eva.

Aikka grimaced and looked down. He was loathe to rouse Eva, after all she'd done to get some rest after the press conference, but understanded the necessity of it. They needed to get out of the car.

"My lady?" Aikka asked quietly, jostling Eva's shoulder slightly. Eva groaned and shifted slightly in her sleep, and Aikka continued, "Princess? We need to leave, now."

Eva cracked open her burgundy eyes and began the tiring process of waking up, "I'm up, I'm up."

She rolled her neck and the joints within it cracked and popped several times before she seemed satisfied. She noticed Aikka's jacket being used as her makeshift blanket and raised a brow at the prince.

"You do this?" Eva asked, and at Aikka's slow nod she continued, "Aww, very nice. Thank you."

The two of them took almost a full two minutes to actually exit the car, and once they did (Aikka holding Eva's hand again, the latter of the two still yawning) they found themselves surrounded again by Nourasian guards and UEG agents. As a unit, all (eleven, twelve?) of the members of the party moved towards a massive, fortified-looking structure.

Aikka spotted Canaan and nodded shortly at him, receiving a nod in return. Eva shivered in the cold evening air despite now being clothed in Aikka's heavy overcoat.

They were welcomed at the armored door by a man in a suit offering a kindly smile, bottles of water, and hot towels.

"Your Highness, Lady Wei," the man greeted, nodding at the prince and Eva, "Welcome to UEG Sector 13. This is President Wong's personal safe house that the two of you will use until which time that it is no longer necessary. If you'll follow me, I will escort you on a tour of the structure -"

Canaan must have caught the horrified looks on both Eva and Aikka's faces because he stepped forward and interrupted their host with his hand up in a 'stop' motion.

"Please excuse me, sir. I am Canaan, Chamberlain to His Highness the Prince. The Prince and the Lady Wei have been traveling for a long time and have not received proper rest in several days. If you would allow them to be shown to their rooms for the evening to rest and perhaps move the tour of this magnificent building to the morning?"

"Of course, Chamberlain," the man acquiesced, and turned to lead the group through the halls, "This way, please, Your Highness, Lady Wei."

Aikka tugged Eva gently along, following the suited man through several dimly-lit spaces. His free hand found his hip where a dagger lay in wait, ready for danger. It was unlikely at this point, but Aikka needed to be ready.

"Your chambers," the man declared as they reached an ornate door.

"Thank you," Aikka dipped his head and pushed open the door.

Eva pulled herself free from his grip and shuffled towards the massive bed against the north wall of the room. She collapsed face-first onto the surface of it as soon as she reached it and Aikka allowed a fond smile to take over his face.

It wasn't by any feeling of awkwardness that Aikka mentioned it, but by his honorable nature - he had noticed that the room the two of them had been provided held only one bed, and so he said aloud that he would be sleeping on the large couch some distance away.

Eva turned her head to the side enough to make her voice audible, "Nah - c'mere. Bed's huge, just c'mere and sleep."

It took a pitiful amount of convincing to get Aikka to let go of his preconceived notions of what was appropriate and what was inappropriate, but the end result was thus:

Eva presented several half-baked, half-logical, half-mumbled arguments to Aikka about why he should _'just fucking sleep on the goddamn bed and stop talking'_ because Eva wanted to finally go to sleep. Aikka put up little to no resistance on this front, and the two of them ended up shifting closer and closer to each other until Eva's back was pressed solidly against Aikka's front.

The Nourasian and the Earthling slept soundly.


End file.
